Boxing the compass

[zoidberg]

I guess most of us can readily recite 16 Points Of The Compass.... but can you manage to name the 32 Points in succession? 64....?

Once upon a time you won a little cloth badge for your mum to sew onto your shirt, if you managed that.

 

[VicS]

I guess most of us can readily recite 16 Points Of The Compass.... but can you manage to name the 32 Points in succession? 64....?

Once upon a time you won a little cloth badge for your mum to sew onto your shirt, if you managed that.

Yes.

 

[LittleSister]

I guess most of us can readily recite 16 Points Of The Compass....

Yes.

but can you manage to name the 32 Points in succession? 64....?

No. ( I can guess what it might be.)

But I can name 360 points!

Please send my badge at your earliest convenience.

 

[VicS]

Can you break an apple in half with your bare hands. ?

 

[Neeves]

The badges would lie long forlorn as few on here still have Mums.

Jonathan

 

[Biggles Wader]

I could box the compass back in 1975 when I did my MN steering ticket. Might have to revise a bit now.

 

[zoidberg]

I haven't thought of it that way before, but the 'Points' system seems more of an American Imperialist thing, while the sexygenerous 'Degrees' nomenclature is a sort of Metric European arrangement. Pity the French spoiled it with 360 degrees, instead of the more logical Academie Francaise 1000 units..... or even 400, the way the naval gunners preferred.

 

[Wansworth]

Can you break an apple in half with your bare hands. ?

Telephone directory?

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I thought this was going to be a thread about how best to box and return a compass bought from the internet.

 

[Daydream believer]

Telephone directory?

Yes. I used to keep some for my party act at Xmas, as a teenager.
It was either that or sing a song, recite some poetry or do some silly party game all of which I hated
So ripping a telephone directory in half & chucking it at some adults suited me.

 

[srm]

I haven't thought of it that way before, but the 'Points' system seems more of an American Imperialist thing, while the sexygenerous 'Degrees' nomenclature is a sort of Metric European arrangement. Pity the French spoiled it with 360 degrees, instead of the more logical Academie Francaise 1000 units..... or even 400, the way the naval gunners preferred.

Early 80's and my first proper lecturing job with a class of 16 fishermen preparing for their "Second Hand Full and Special" ticket. Qualified them as skipper on the smaller boats that were the mainstay of the Shetland fleet at the time or mate on the larger boats.
I made the comment that points of the compass were no longer used only to be corrected. Shooting the seine net the first rope was laid, then so many points to starboard to shoot the net then starboard again for so many points to shoot the second rope and pick up the dahn buoy.
Yes, they could all box the compass but a few had trouble applying variation or deviation if the calculation crossed 360 degrees.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

As it's completely logical, I can do it (slowly!)

Compass points are the older system, from the time when instrument makers could easily successively bisect angles, but couldn't readily divide a circle into 360°. The former is a simple ruler and compass construction; the latter cannot be done by simple construction (for the nerdy, it requires the trisection of an angle, which is impossible using ruler and compass alone). Division into degrees required mechanical methods for dividing a circle.

 

[john_morris_uk]

The gloves are off.

 

[LittleSister]

Boxing the compass was a number of satisfying things I learnt, but had no immediate practical use for, when I was in the Sea Cadets as a young teenager.

It's taken me most of a lifetime to realise both that I really enjoy gaining (and musing about) detailed knowledge of subjects that capture my imagination (as seafaring matters did starting back then), and that most others don't and think it quite weird!

 

[Wansworth]

On the coaster courses were always in points,until I got the hang of steering ,north was anywhere between NW anNE

 

[zoidberg]

On the Shackleton Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, navigators swung the compass in Points, 'cos that's how the pilots liked to steer.
On the Nimrod, navigators swung and labelled the compass cards two ways - in Points for the old pilots and in Degrees for the young navigators.
On the Vulcan, the Main Steering Compass was swung and calibrated meticulously in tenths of a degree. That made sense to the navigators, who were aware of the 'One in 57.3 Rule'.... The pilots followed a pointer anyway, but they still managed to miss the runway at Stanley with all the bombs but one they'd carted thousands of miles.

 

[zoidberg]

On the coaster courses were always in points,until I got the hang of steering ,north was anywhere between NW anNE

Some techie types might call that 'Northern Instability'. Others would suggest you 'head south until the butter melts'...

 

[Wansworth]

Some techie types might call that 'Northern Instability'. Others would suggest you 'head south until the butter melts'...

It didn’t take too long before I could maintain a steady course even reading a book at the same time ……..butter meal ting here in Galicia today

 

[Alan S]

I guess most of us can readily recite 16 Points Of The Compass.... but can you manage to name the 32 Points in succession? 64....?

Once upon a time you won a little cloth badge for your mum to sew onto your shirt, if you managed that.

You should be ashamed of yourself, you're supposed to sew it on your self!

 

[Daydream believer]

You should be ashamed of yourself, you're supposed to sew it on your self!

Another badge needed for knitting